The stranger's Journal
by Suilaid
Summary: A Leisurely journal type story of the Stranger, who happens to be a very bright eyed young girl, and extremely gifted. She has already been to Myst, and is just starting the next chapter: Riven!


MYST

When I found the book that linked me to Myst, I never thought my life would change so drastically. True, I felt a bit like I had lost my mind at first, how is it that browsing idly through the Library for books on photography could have led _me_, just an average girl (or so I thought) into the wondrous world of ages? Yes, you might be thinking "We have ages, the dark ages for instance" and I might tell you "Yes indeed, that is true, but this is _far different, _and even more spectacular."

Myst was a linking book, the first of many that I have encountered, and upon delicately placing a hesitant hand upon the moving picture that was the only page not blank, it transported me to the island of Myst, my first age. Atrus told me the whole ordeal had happened by mistake, (when I met him some great time later in my journey) as he had fallen into the Star Fissure in Riven he described to me that he had dropped the linking book of Myst; and somehow it had ended up on Earth, and ultimately into my hands. For whatever reason the Universe won't disclose with me, it was I who was destined to complete the task set before me through careful unlocking of puzzles of great brilliance, Myst proved an interesting challenge (and it was _fun _if I might add).

Now, I'm writing in this journal, which is brand new and smells so delightfully of new parchment and leather (which was provided by Atrus, who knows books better than he?) because my journal I kept in Myst was most unfortunately lost when I was returned to my home, and that was a disappointing time, but I won't get into that. So let me humor myself by briefly recounting my experience on _Myst_.

The island in which I was transported is not the only Age in that world. I was also taken to many others after a series of puzzles, which opened up the access to linking book to those ages. I watched a hologram of Atrus speaking to Catherine (who I later discovered is his wife) and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't I who was supposed to be here, as he spoke to her about things like I should understand; and yet here I was watching this hologram of a man I did not know and he was telling me to do things. Bizarre as it was, he sparked my curiosity, and I set off around the island until I came upon a building that held bookcases filled with ruined and burned books, and paintings. Upon further investigation I found a lone red book on one shelf, and another, but blue, on the opposite wall.

Accenar and Sirrus presented _very _compelling evidence for why they thought I should release them from the prison books they were in, and I decided that Accenar sounded less…insane…so I set off to find the "red pages" he claimed would set him free if I found them and put them back in the book. Going into complete detail about this all would be dreadfully long, and I am so very angry at myself for letting my first journal escape from my grasp as I was pulled out of the age and back into my own universe, I will never get that valuable information back, nor the illustrations I did along the way (without a camera, what else can I do?).

Now, in the end I discovered that both Accenar and Sirrus were completely out of their minds, and I was glad that I did not free _either _of them! I met Atrus in D'ni and was thrust back into my own world. The whole thing felt like one elaborate and meticulously detailed dream, not to mention it felt so _real_, I pinched my arm many times, and I thought that I must have been in dramatically crazy state of mind and imagined it all (wouldn't be the first time I thought myself to be losing it).

* * *

><p>But alas! Just as life was resuming as normal, I was sucked back to Atrus, in a large circular room that was barely lit, with only minutes to spare; and I concluded it absolutely must be real, and the man, who much to my delight now considered me a friend and someone I could trust.<p>

"You must save Catherine," He said at some point, after giving a lengthy explanation (which he said was brief) of the severity of what was going on in an Age named Riven. "Riven is unstable, and I fear it may collapse sooner than I had expected. My friend, you helped me before, and you can do it again. Take this book, trap my father, Ghen, in this prison book, and then free Catherine."

"And after that?" I asked, my mind whirling with all this new information. He had talked for quite some time before what I have written down, for I think he enjoys it far too much, and did not write all he had to say to me.

"Open the Star Fissure, and I will come to you. Do not do so before you have freed Catherine." His face was strained, he looked very tired and weighed down, so I felt compelled to be nice about it, and didn't inquire any further.

"Alright Atrus, if that is what I must do, then it will be done." I replied soothingly, patting his hand.

"I know I can count on you, my dear friend."

In a moment I was touching the linking book to Riven, and was transported into a cell type structure that I could not begin to fully understand when a grate came up in front of me, trapping me inside. I mused that Atrus was quite an illusive man, and that one day I would need to have a good long chat with him and his desire for my help, as this was not an ideal predicament and I should have been warned.

I have been in here for quite some time, yes, this is where I am writing this down, with nothing better to do in this cage I must wait until someone (oh please someone) comes and lets me free.

The sun is high in the sky, and what I can see in the blasted cell isn't very impressive… but what is that? Do my ears hear clearly… is that footsteps?

I will write later, it is time to begin my journey.


End file.
